adminZimbabwean companies have been invited to attend the South Sudan Investment Conference to be held in Juba on December 4 and 5 this year.
South Sudan acting Charge d’Affaires in Zimbabwe Mr Watts Nyirigwa told New Ziana that he had written to the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce inviting it to attend the conference.
“This will be an opportunity to explore opportunities on the ground and decide on areas to invest in,” he said.
Mr Nyirigwa said areas that Zimbabwean companies could invest in included oil exploration, mining, agriculture, health and infrastructure.
He said Zimbabwean companies could use the investment conference to interact with their South Sudan counterparts and discuss joint ventures.
Mr Nyirigwa added that numerous opportunities existed in South Sudan as the country did not yet have any industries since it attained independence barely two years ago.
“South Sudan is not yet a cash economy. It does not have any industries and most its products are imported from Kenya, Uganda and Sudan,” he added.
He said the South Sudan government had set aside an area just outside Juba for companies to establish plants to manufacture different products.
South Sudanese companies had recently formed a Chamber of Commerce to spearhead the development of businesses in the country, he said.
Mr Nyirigwa noted that relations between Zimbabwe and South Sudan were very strong and dated back to the days when Juba was fighting for independence from Khartoum.
He lamented the absence of Zimbabwean companies in South Sudan when the country was the strongest supporter of Juba during its fight to secede from Sudan.
“Zimbabwe provided the SPLM with arms and ammunition as well as trained its fighters,” he said.
South Sudan became Africa’s 54th state in July 2011 when it seceded from Sudan following a referendum in which 98 percent of Southerners voted to break away. — New Ziana.
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